The deserts of the Land of Wind appear to be a barren, waterless, plantless, lifeless wasteland to most people. There actually IS life here, and water can be found as well if one knows where to look and how to gather it. However, the fact remains that the desert is an inhospitable place to be without protection. The Eastern Desert is the great, barren expanse that lies between the border of the Land of Wind's border with the Land of Rivers, and the Hidden Sand Village.
Sunagakure lies to the west, and the border lies generally eastwards. North is empty desert.*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*/
It is a hot one outside in the deserts near the Village Hidden in the Sand. There is next to no one travelling today. Even Keiji had decided he's not going outside for the moment. The boy remains in one of his caverns. He continues to scan outside the entrance as if waiting for someone. It is a first that the boy seems truly eager to look into the light. It has to hurt his eyes at least a little bit. Finally he turns away from the entrance and takes a seat against one of the walls. It was cooler down here beneath the blanket of sand. He glances around at the various furniture pieces he had gathered. At least in this room of the cavern there was a table, some chairs and a lantern for those who were unable to see in the dark.
Most likely, it would be the ticking that gave Asao's location away. While the sound was all but muted above, the rythmic pulse in the ground would still betray where he is to those who knew what to listen for. Either way, he was on his way to visit Keiji with a rather large scroll. Indeed, Tokkan was actually walking beside Asao, with it's arms wrapped about the scroll. Toku was still in that cloak setup, hooked around his neck with the clasp at the front. Walking along, he would look about for where Keiji said they should meet at. Finally calling out curiously, "Suppodoku-san? You are in this area, hai?"

Keiji heard the voice and moved to the exit. He seemed fairly calm and collected. "Over here. Come on in." he states as he moves back into the cavern. It was more a hole on the side of a sand dune. The boy then lit a match and lit the lantern for Asao. That way the boy could see in the darkness Keiji usually lived in. "So did you bring it?" Keiji asks as he glances towards the giant scroll in the puppet's arms.
Asao glanced over at the voice, a small nod given and he and Tokkan would walk into that cavern that Keiji had made for himself. Glancing about, Asao would give a small nod, it's sort of not surprising this is the type of area that Keiji would call home. Asao glanced to Tokkan with a nod, looking back to Keiji. "It's heavy. Do you have something sturdy to support it, Shippodoku-san?"

Keiji points to the table in the center of the room under the lantern. "That is going to be the most sturdy place besides the floor around here. Eventually I will learn to make an earthstyle table. Just not a lot of use for it in actual combat." The boy moves towards the table and waits for the puppet to lay down the scroll. "This is exciting. Not only to be able to learn to use my chakra in a different nature but to have the knowledge of the human body. It will easily make me tens times deadlier than I already am. Then there is the ability to save those I normally could not."
Asao would give a nod and motion for Tokkan to set it there. Once the scroll was set down, the table would indeed groan under the weight. Unrolling the scroll, Asao made a seal sign, then placed a hand ont he paper, causing the circles within it to *BAMF* the books into exsistance. They were very thick manuals, each one easily half the height of the table itself. The scroll only held three of them as Asao would step back. "I was told this is the abridged edition of starting to learn the medical arts. There is a lot of thereom behind the work, chakra alterations for increased output, so on. It may be a bit of intense reading, however they should get you started. Once you are ready for it, I will get you volume two of the set."

"Abridged…" Keiji states as he looks at the sheer size of the tomes. He knew someone got a laugh out of telling Asao that. "Though I prefer to have actual visual confirmation of my targets habits, sometimes getting a hold of a journal or a diary can be equally effective for formulating plans. As I would any assassination, I will attack this the same way."
Then moving to the table, Keiji opens up the first tome and takes a seat. "I am sure this will pay off in the end. Just a matter of keeping focused." He then turns towards Asao. "Please let whomever you got the books from know I owe them a favor."
Asao would give a nod in response to Keiji. "Good decision. I will pass that information along as well, Shippodoku-san." Asao glanced towards Tokkan, who would fold up to slide under Toku for storage in Asao's pack once more. "If you wish to attempt to obtain the journal of a med nin, there is Suien Reizo. While he has used experimental techniques for him on my personage when I obtained healing, ultimately he does seem to know what he is doing. When I did a general inquery about teaching, he specified that it would require Ryo to do such." Asao gave a small shake of his head. "I am not sure how you would handle such details precisely, Shippodoku-san. In the end, Suien is 89% effective in his techniques."

"I will keep that in mind." Keiji states as he flips the next page. He would have to place the name into memory. Maybe the shinobi was not money based, but from what Asao said it seemed like he may very well be. It would be another avenue the boy could take in his quest of learning. "I have also thought about asking one of the council members for entry into the hospital as a student. I am sure one of them could work something out. But, the key now is to learn the basics, then gain the apprenticeship later."
Asao would hesitate a moment. Considering what he went through with Kuoroke.. A small shrug was given. "My recommendation for such, would be Kuroki Kuoroke-san. He is extremely efficent at what he does. He was able to accelerate my own training capabilities from where I started to where I am now, in a very short time frame. I noted a definite improvement, ranging from 65 to 85% in efficency with his tutilage." Asao would hesitate again. "Of course, he is also a bit on the brutal side. So be prepared for an extreme, if you do seek his guidance, hai?"

Keiji smiles under his mask as Asao makes mention of Kuoroke. "Yeah, the Drill Master can be a bit brutal. He means well though and I am almost certain he would be willing to bend rules if he thought it was in the best interest of the village. Kind of funny. The exterior of that one is a stickler for rules and regulations but I think thats only a biproduct of the interior seeking to protect Suna as a whole."
Keiji still does not look up from the book. He flips another page. "I knew quite a bit about the human body before hand, but this chakra network is really pretty interesting. I guess in the academy they explained a bit about the focus starting in the stomach and being in multiple places including the brain, but the actual circulation is pretty neat."
"Hai. It is very much like the clockwork that I have crafted. This is the main reason why I can charge lightning through Tokkan actually. I used a general guide of the chakra network for a person's body as the blueprint for the chakra metal that is through out him. I did not have as much chakra metal material for Toku, so it's plates are more flexable to respond to it's shifting nature as well." Asao chuckled, if briefly. "I can head out, if you wish Shippodoku-san. I understand you have a lot of reading ahead of you. If you do need any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask, I will do my best to assist, hai?"

"That makes sense." Keiji states in reference to Tokkan's crafted network. "Yes, it would probably be best if you did go for now. I hate to kick you out, but this knowledge will allow the team not only a new element in combat, but a greater survival chance in every mission. Something like that I simply cannot pass up. Thank you again for your help in this matter Asao."